Labour will stay trapped in its Europhile bubble until it accepts Left-wingers wanted Brexit too

Jeremy Corbyn couldn't stop Britain voting to leave the European Union, despite his self-described "7.5 out of 10" effort to persuade them to stick with it. Politicians always insist after any embarrassing failure that they'll learn lessons, so what is the Labour Party taking from one of the biggest political events of this generation? That it was all the Tories' fault apparently.

Mr Corbyn clashed with his rival Owen Smith on Thursday night during Labour's first leadership hustings. They discussed many issues, ranging from the economy to the party's polling doldrums, but the referendum was little discussed except as a way for Mr Smith to attack his rival's leadership.

Mr Corbyn's enthusiasm towards the EU may have tepid at best, going as far as calling for Article 50 to be invoked as soon as Britain had voted Leave, but it was very much in keeping with the national mood. Bear in mind 52 per cent of voters decided it was time to leave, even though Mr Corbyn's Europhile colleagues like Owen Smith pretend otherwise. Did they dwell on how Labour could stay relevant to these voters? Hardly, they were much keener to debate who could "take the fight to the Tories" best over Europe. This vote will shape the nation's future, but Labour just wants to work out how to use it to score points off the Tories.

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This explains why Labour is in such dire straits. Battered by losing two general elections in a row and the EU referendum, the party hasn't stopped to think why it has become so out of step with voters. Labour's Europhiles plough on and prefer to make out it's all part of their fight against the Tories. Theresa May fought for Remain, even if very quietly, but she is now getting on with the task of negotiating Brexit. All Labour has done is shout about how it has been her party's fault, rather than trying to represent Britain's Left-wingers as Brexit takes shape.

Meanwhile, any adverse news for Britain's economy is pounced upon by Chuka Umunna, who chalks it up as a blow to"Boris, Fox, Leadsom and co". Those figures were indeed Conservative. They were also major spokespeople for the Leave campaign. It's telling that he chooses them of course, rather than any of his fellow Labour MPs who backed Leave like Kate Hoey and Graham Stringer. But that woudn't suit the Labour narrative would it?

The Opposition must find it comforting to retreat back into its bunker and attack the Conservative Party. But Labour Europhiles seems to be struggling to accept that many from their own ranks joined these Conservatives by backing Leave, and they could do little to stop them.

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Over 9 million people voted Labour at the last general election. The party's Europhiles clearly thought they were all in the bag. Their strategy amounted to little more than reminding voters that manyTories and Nigel Farage backed the other side, and hoping that would send them running Remainwards. But this arrogance led to an unwelcome surprise on June 24 after swathes of Left-wingers ignored Labour's pleas.

Labour's band of Europhiles simply failed to understand how their supporters felt about the relevant referendum issues. They thought immigration would be something they could turn against the Leavers by painting anyone who expressed concern about Britain's borders as a bigot. But polling by GQR Research for the Trades Union Congress found that immigration is not a concern solely of Right-leaning voters.

Vast majority of voters think reducing immigration is essential –including most left wing voters and most RemainersCredit:
GQR Research

Nearly half (41 per cent) of Left-wing voters polled agree if it is "essential for the immigration system to reduce the number of migrants coming to Britain", a very similar proportion (44 per cent) to Remainers. Many middle-class (59 per cent) voters feel Britain needs to reduce the rate of immigration too.

Immigration is of a slightly greater concern to working-class voters (64 per cent), which shows how Labour's conceitedness was a gift to Leave campaigners and Ukip. Labour thought it could rely on such voters, especially in their northern heartlands, but the referendum showed otherwise.

Labour's Remainers enjoyed scoffing at Brexiteers over their rhetoric on immigration. But the polling found that this metropolitan sneering tended to rankle with most voters, who felt they were dismissing "legitimate concerns". Labourites didn't just fail to convince their supporters that they understood their concerns about immigration, but about why it was worth staying in the EU in the first place. GQR's research finds that most voters (75 per cent) chose Leave because they wanted to "control our laws", while 72 per cent did so over immigration, and only 20 per cent on the economy - a topic much favoured by Remainers during the campaign. So Labourites didn't just fail to explain to their natural voters why they should stick with them on the EU, but misunderstood why they would want to Leave.

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The leadership contest Labour is now undergoing should give it the chance to examine how it communicates with its supporters. The referendum, as one of the biggest exercises in democracy in modern British history, should give them a clear sense of how they might be feeling. But Labour MPs don't seem to have grasped its full significance yet, preferring to chalk it up as a "Tory" vote. Over 17 million people voted for Leave, while approximately 11.3 million voted Conservative at the last election. The longer Labour keeps its head in the sand, the higher that vote tally will be at the next election.

Labourites continue to talk as if Britain's Brexit vote was just a con trick played on voters by Tory politicians, suggesting they're in no rush to break out of their metropolitan Europhile bubble. If Labour can't take the referendum result seriously, how can they expect voters to do the same to them?